Ken Griffin, the American hedge fund manager and investor, has a warning for Americans voting for the Left: Look at France. His warning pointed to a broader problem of progressivism, that France's riots are the result of a culture increasingly concerned with what people can take from others rather than what they can build themselves.
Earlier this week, Griffin pointed to France as a cautionary tale for young Americans, as the country confronts violent social unrest fueled by anger over the cost of living, despite publicly funded healthcare, a standard 35-hour workweek, and extensive redistribution. While many were quick to point to mass immigration, the culture of entitlement that pervades progressive economics deserves more of the blame. When every hardship becomes someone else’s obligation to fix, unmet expectations become a source of resentment, and the kind of unrest that has spread across the country over the course of the last week.
NEW: Ken Griffin on Paris riots, Chicago and JB Pritzker I think Paris should be a real wake up call to every single young American. France is the dream the left talks about. That dream is the nightmare I left from Chicago. That dream doesn’t belong in our country. A society that comes down to how much you can take from others. Do you see candidates that you’re actually fearful that’s the path they’re going down: J.B. Pritzker, Governor of Illinois. Yes, 100%. 100%
— Jeff Orr (@JeffO773) October 23, 2026
"I think Paris should be a real wake up call to every single young American," Griffin said. "France is the dream the left talks about. That dream is the nightmare I left from Chicago. That dream doesn’t belong in our country. A society that comes down to how much you can take from others. That’s not a society that we want to create."
"Do you see candidates that you’re actually fearful that’s the path they’re going down?" the interviewer asked.
"I mean, J.B. Pritzker, Governor of Illinois. Yes, 100 percent," Griffin replied.
The warning carries a personal edge as well. Just months ago, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani singled out Griffin’s luxury Manhattan apartment while announcing his pied-à-terre tax, raising concerns about the line between taxing the wealthy and making them targets of public hostility.
Those concerns carry particular weight in the shadow of the December 2024 killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.